Heart disease is responsible for a large number of deaths in the world, making it a growing concern for healthcare professionals.
Despite several advancements in the medical field, the demand for heart transplantation exceeds the number of suitable donors available, causing several patients to stay in the waiting list for years, if not dying before a suitable donor is found. However, the advent of 3D printing technology has opened doors for several cardiac treatment options, one of which involves 3D printing a heart.
What is 3D Printing?
3D printing is a process of building three-dimensional objects by adding successive layers of materials. This technology has revolutionized manufacturing and has an impact on several industries, including the medical industry.
How does 3D Printing work in creating a heart?
The process of creating a 3D printed heart is a bit complicated, starting with gathering the patient’s CT scan data to form a 3D model of the patient’s heart.
From there, doctors make any necessary amendments to the model to ensure that the final product is an exact fit for the patient. The 3D printing machine then builds the heart by adding successive layers of materials.
The materials used for the 3D printing process are bio-ink, a mix of several biological substances.
Advantages of Creating a 3D Printed Heart
The benefits of creating a 3D printed heart are enormous, with one of them being that it solves the problem of shortage of available heart donors. Additionally, the 3D printed heart has several unique features, including:.
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- It’s tailor-made for the patient’s anatomy, making it an exact fit.
- It has no risks of transplant rejection if created from the patient’s cells.
- It’s created using the patient’s cells, ensuring it’s a perfect match.
- Avoids the requirement for immunosuppressive drugs.
Challenges Faced While Creating 3D Printed Hearts
While 3D printing promises to be a game-changer in treating heart disease, creating a 3D printed heart is a process laden with several challenges. Some of the main challenges include:.
- The cost of creating a 3D printed heart is quite high, and there’s no guarantee that insurance will cover it.
- It’s a relatively new technology, meaning that there’s a limit to the scale of the undertaking that can be accomplished.
- The 3D printed heart may lack the same degree of structural integrity as traditional hearts.
- There’s the risk of blood clotting due to the structure’s lack of appropriate surfaces.
- Long-term study is required to confirm that the 3D printed heart is effective.
Future of 3D Printed Hearts
Despite several challenges that come with creating a 3D printed heart, the future of this technology is bright. With advancements in technology, the production costs of creating 3D printed hearts should lower.
Additionally, the medical industry’s growing awareness of the benefits of 3D printed organs should pave the way to overcome the technical issues that come with creating 3D printed hearts.
With time, 3D printed hearts should become more functional and robust, with a structure that emulates traditional hearts. The technology’s long-term benefits in treating cardiac diseases should improve as well.
Conclusion
The eureka moment when a surgeon can wipe heart transplant surgery off the list of life–threatening procedures could be some years away. Still, technology has given researchers an appealing alternative.
And researchers have already discovered how to 3D-print small heart parts, like the aortic valve, and how to grow entire human heart organs outside their original host bodies. While we don’t have functioning 3D-printed hearts yet, printing a new heart – one that’s a perfect fit for the recipient – is something that can be done.
Although there are challenges to overcome, the potential benefits of 3D printed hearts make the endeavor worth the investment.
